4179 Toutatis
| 4179 Toutatis | |
|---|---|
| |
| 4179 Toutatis from AsteroidPack_v1.00.zip in Orbiter 2003P2 | |
| Designation | |
| Name | 4179 Toutatis |
| Reference body | Sun |
| Number of satellites | 0 |
| Planetary mean orbits | |
| Epoch | 2006 |
| Semimajor axis (a) | 377624385088.758 m |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.634557615148393 |
| Inclination (i) | 0.0077938875° (0.00779388747174762 radian) |
| Longitude of the ascending node (LAN, ☊) | 123.0291694° (2.14726408226075 radian) |
| Longitude of periapsis (ϖ) | 402.9283255° (7.03242592972654 radian) |
| Mean longitude (L) | 508.9465051° (8.88279223003487 radian) |
| Rotational Elements | |
| Sidereal Rotation Period | 468000 seconds (130 hours) |
| Sidereal Rotation Offset | 0 |
| Obliquity | 0 radians 0° |
| Selected physical parameters | |
| Mean radius | 1650 m |
| Mass | 5×10<su>13 kg |
| Note | *Elements given are from 4179 Toutatis.cfg (AsteroidPack_v1.00.zip) |
4179 Toutatis (1934 CT) is an elongated asteroid in the main asteroid belt, and is also a Mars and Earth crosser. It was first discovered on 10 February 1934, but was lost until is was again sighted on 4 January 1989 by Christian Pollas. It was named after a Celtic god.
Toutatis can approach Earth as close as 2.8 lunar distances, and approached as close as 4 LD in 2004. It has a 3:1 orbital resonance with Jupiter and near 1:4 resonance with Earth. This leads to a very chaotic behavior in its orbit which does not allow accurate predictions of its orbit far into the future. It has been classified as a potentially hazardous object.
Toutatis has been studied by radar a number of times and was visited by Chang'e 2 during a flyby on 13 December 2012.
Toutatis in Orbiter[edit]
4179 Toutatis was first introduced to Orbiter with the release of MainBeltAsteroids051403 in 2003.
Note that the landing surface as given in the config file is spherical, but the visual of these bodies are not, if you land, you will likely be above or below the visual surface.
| Add-on | Source | Version | Author | Type | Release Date | Compatibility | Wiki article |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asteroid Pack 1.00 | O-F Resources | 2004-11-21 | Nighthawke | Scenery | 21 November 2004 | ||
| Main Belt Asteroids v1.0 | O-F Resources | v1.0 | Unknown OHM Addon Developer | Scenery | 14 May 2003 | ||
Gallery[edit]
4179 Toutatis from MainBeltAsteroids051403.zip in Orbiter 2002P3 
4179 Toutatis from AsteroidPack_v1.00.zip in Orbiter 2003P2 
Closeup of Toutatis imaged by Chang'e 2 during flyby. 
Radar study of Toutatis by Goldstone in 1996. 
Orbit of Toutatis (magenta, Earth's orbit is blue, Jupiter's orbit is cyan)
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